In the Twilight
by Kaoz
Summary: Takes place after the books n movies. Felt like some smut n this is what I wrote. Take a peek.


**_AN: I couldn't get this idea out of my head but I didn't have the time to actually write it out past my notes though I've tried to make it flow. _**

**_This one is rated M so you have been warned.  
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**In the Twilight**

She's bathing when they come upon her. The hunger strikes deep, tearing and gnawing- like a burning river in her veins and she's out of the water before they can blink. It's all she can do to keep from tearing into their soft flesh. Their scent is strong and they stand there mute, asking her – begging to meet her cold embrace.

They don't discern the danger and all they know is that no one can survive in the wilds without clothes, especially in the winter. They ask if she's lost. Ask if she needs help and offer her a coat and all the while their eyes roam over the pale skin glistening with droplets of water.

She doesn't move.

They draw near and she's gone. As though she's never been and they agree it was just a hallucination. They blame it on the altitude and head back to their camp where they decide it's best to go home and just pack.

She watches them; eyes almost black with hunger and yet she keeps herself in place.

They are gone and the woods are silent once more. She's been alone… the days and nights bleed into each other. She wants to go home. She wants to see her people again but the way is lost, has been for some time…

Alice sees her. She's been waiting for her half afraid the day would never come. Like the times before, her image fades and is gone and Alice waits some more.

Carlisle, Emmett and Edward are going hunting. They leave in the early pre-dawn light and Bella watches from the main house with Renesme in her arms. They don't always feed together but today Bella wants badly to go with Edward. She stays behind.

In the woods the light is fading and as the twilight peeks from behid the trees something else catches Emmett's eye. He doesn't know what it is but chases after it anyway. He likes to hunt, likes the rush of wind and the smells of the forest.

She runs and they keep pace easily. She leaps and dodges, doubles back and collides with the young one. He holds her lightly, hands curled around her arms, skin as colds as hers. His eyes are gold, almost glowing in the twilight and they are wide with surprise, his skin just as pale…

They are like her.

Edward stares. He doesn't understand what's in her mind, doesn't know what to make of the unfamiliar words. Her eyes are dark, almost black and his grip tightens. He knows it's the hunger; the need to feed that makes her eyes that dark. But it's more than that-

Alice jerks in her seat and Jasper stops playing with Renesme. He sits with Alice, waiting for any sign of what she may need but Alice only shudders and blinks. She looks around the living room, golden eyes finally resting on Bella.

"What?"

"She's here."

Emmett stops on a slight rise a few yards away from Edward. He laughs and whoops because he's caught their 'little fawn'. Carslile approaches, a slight smile on his face that quickly falls away as he notices what she's wearing.

"Who?" Bella strides across the living room to kneel in front of Alice.

"She was lost." Alice stands and heads to the door. Jasper is at her side and with a look to Esme and Renesme, Bella is after the pair.

Carslile raises a hand in warning. He doesn't want to frighten her -

She reacts. She can see the one they would never harm, can find it in the gold eyes of the one holding her. Through him she can see the others, the women they would die to protect and she becomes them.

Edward gasps, surprised to see Bella's gold eyes staring back at him, to feel her in his hands and loosens his hold.

Carslile drops his hand and stares in confusion at Esme. He remembers her staying at the house with the others.

Emmett stalks towards Edward. He doesn't know why Rosalie is out when she'd stayed behind with Renesme. She dotes on the little vampling.

_'It isn't her.'_

Edward frowns.

_'That isn't Bella.'_

He can see that it is. Bella's gold eyes, Bella's chocolate curls, Bella's soft smile…

_'It isn't Bella.'_

He leans in, lightly grazing her neck with his nose and draws her scent-

_'Not my Bella.'_

Edward pulls back with a snarl and Bella's gone. In her place is the dark haired girl with the black eyes Emmett had chased after. She's stiff and staring at him-

He sees her and she does the only thing she can.

Edward falls silently at her feet. Emmett and Carslile box her in and she backs into the darkening woods. Black eyes shift from one to the other, wary and afraid. She remembers the other one, the pale one who killed her people. They are like her, like the one who made her into the _thing-_. She backs up further, ready to run.

"Wait!"

She whirls to face the threat from behind. The gold eyes are easy to make out in the darkening forest. There's three more.

"Edward!" Bella calls.

"He's fine." Carslile answers but it does nothing to soothe her.

"Edward! Why doesn't he answer?"

She's off but they don't know which one to follow. There's half a dozen of the black haired girl in the furs running every which way in the forest.

"What is she?"

"Pick one!" Jasper orders and runs off. The others do the same, heading in different directions.

"This one!" Alice calls out but she's wrong. She stops and closes her eyes, searching the future for the Vampire. Finally, she gets a vision and it's Bella who sees the truth.

She's running but the female is keeping pace. She runs as free as the deer, mimicking each leap and jump and they're side by side. There's a difference in that one- doesn't _feel_ like the pale one who made her – the one who killed-

They're nearing the border and Bella can just make out the shadow of the Quileute's wating across the river. If the Vampire crosses into their land they won't hesitate to kill her. She tells her to stop but it does nothing. Bella points to the woods, tells her they'll kill her and still she runs.

She's staring at the trees ahead. The river isn't far; she could leap across it now if she truly wanted-

There's dirt and leaves and the sky blots out. She feels the strong grip of cold hands on her and twists, snarling and striking until she is free. They're all there when she gets her feet on solid grond, she's crouched and they surround her-

The Cold Ones.

"Wait!" Alice calls stepping out of the fold.

The wolf lands behind the Vampire, fangs bared and hackles raised but he stays. He watches it, brown eyes following it's every move.

She hesitates to stand. Here is the legend come to life. The protectors of her people…

_"Where did you go?" _she asks standing straight and proud as her people have always done. _"Our people needed you."_

Jacob looks behind the Vampire to the Cullen's and Bella. They don't understand her; don't know what she's saying and he turns his attention to the Vampire. She speaks the tongue of the people; she's wearing the furs of animals, barefoot and pale-

_"_I _needed you."_ She drops her arm and yanks down the skin to bare her collar and the ragged mark he can make out on her pale skin. They all see the mark standing in stark contrast on the pale skin under a new moon.

Jacob shifts forms, back to human while his pack watches from the border. It's been 70years and still no one dares cross the border. 70years since they fought the new vampires and the Volturi came to Forks.

_"Who are you?"_

_"I was Quileute. I was of the people you were to protect. Now I am _this._"_

They don't understand her words but they hear and understand the disgust in her voice, in the soft lilting tone that carries in the still night. The forest is dark now, a sliver of moon shines feebly through the canopy where the Cullen's remain.

_"How long have you been… a Cold One?"_

He sees her gaze shift, the black eyes staring at the dry ground. The story comes out slowly, her voice no louder than a whisper as she tells of the day _She_ came to the village. Of how she tried to protect her brother and sister only to watch them torn apart and the burning that consumed her. She watched them fight, watched the brave warriors die and bleed-

She couldn't tell them of how an old one dragged her to the water's edge, pulled her away from the dead and the burning and tried to heal her. She couldn't tell them none of it had made a difference and the old one had died. The old one's blood in her mouth and on her hands and dripping from her chin and how she wanted it more and she'd torn into the old one until there was nothing but skin and bones and her hunger wasn't sated.

"Jake?" Bella takes a tentative step forward but Carslile holds her back. Jacob knows what she's asking, knows she's concerned and Edward is there, always there and he gently draws Bella back into the fold. Back where she is safe and he can protect her.

"She was one of our people." He replies and the pack shuffles, growls and whines because they heard them, heard her tale and they can see past the pale skin and black eyes to the face and features they see everyday in the reservation.

She was theirs.

"She's finally home." Alice says but they all know she can't cross the broder. They know 'home' isn't the reservation and her people are no longer hers. She's an outcast, something they fear and wouldn't hesitate to kill.

She's alone.

Her name is Taima Graydove.

She was a Quileute maiden before she became a Cold One. She speaks to no one but the pack- Seth, Leah and Jacob. Sometimes Embry and Quil show up, curious about Taima and the stories she tells them of their ancestors. She weaves the images of her family into reality, shows them Jacob's ancestor and the others she can remember. It isn't much and yet she finds a comfort in the pack- _hers_ even if she is an outcast. They are what makes her past even if the present pulls her farther away from the life she knew.

Jacob watches her from the trees, listens to the stories and the legends- they haven't changed much from what he's heard. He watches Taima play with Seth and Collin, the youngest ones from the first year- when they all began to change. She won't sleep inside though the Cullen's have more than once insisted she do so. He knows Taima is holding on to the life she had before everything changed, before she became like them. He knows she can't be anything else and fighting what she is won't help anything. He knows from experience the damage it does.

Alice stares out the window and watches them play. Jasper leans on the wall and follows her line of sight but he already knows what he will find. The picture doesn't change much; it hasn't in the past month. There's always a wolf sitting with Taima, or they're rolling around – playing.

Jasper remembers the first time it happened. No one expected the snarled growl or the pack of wolves crashing onto the property. Five huge wolves, fangs salivating and stalking Taima while Seth paced back and forth in front of her.

They were only playing.

"She's coming inside." Alice is happy. She's smiling and skipping to the front door. She opens it as Taima stands there frowning.

Jacob said it was time to accept things as they were. She was no longer of the people but a Cold One and the Cullen's were nothing like the one who made her, the one who destroyed the life she could've had. He's told her the world is not as it was in her time and she knows he is right, has seen glimpses of it though she's been quick to run away.

Now she has to learn to live in it.

"Come in." Alice reaches for her hand and lightly touches her fingers. When Taima doesn't pull away she grasps her wrist and draws her inside. The door closes behind them and the house is a blur as Alice leads her new project upstairs to her bedroom. She sits Taima down in front of a mirror and waits patiently while she inspects it.

_"Is this magic?"_ but they don't understand her and it's one of the things Jacob has told her she must learn. To speak the language of the pale ones. The house is confining and it's too much- Taima stands up and looks for an exit.

"Wait-." Alice watches as Taima runs to the window and lightly leaps out into the forest. She sighs and ignores Jasper standing in her door. He wants to tell her 'I told you so' but wisely keeps quiet.

The days pass quickly for Taima but the lessons from the pack go slowly. She isn't stupid but the change is difficult to make and she makes it a tedious process. Taima understands what the Cullen's say, knows they try to make her feel welcome but they aren't Quileute and then tells herself she isn't either.

The Cullen's are her people now.

Alice has made it her purpose to style and dress Taima in the modern acoutrements.

Taima doesn't like silk; she doesn't like polyester or sharmeus and she _hates_ pink- anything in a pink shade.

Alice doesn't give up. There's a new wardrobe almost every week of which Taima will only deign to wear one or two pieces. They usually range in color from black to gray or dark blues. There are a couple pieces in white and some in red or dark browns and greens. At least she isn't tearing them off and stomping away naked and pissed.

Bella finds it amusing. The fact Alice has met her match and nothing she does makes Taima budge. She won't let Alice near her long black locks with sciscors. Barely lets her apply the curling iron but they wont hold for long anyway.

Taima goes with Carslile and Emse to hunt. They notice she does so with ease and no hesitation. Waits patiently- still as a statue for her prey to come closer. She pounces on it with feline grace only to pull back from her kill to honor the ways of her people. She gives thanks for her meal and only eats small ammounts. Her eyes only lighten to brown because of it and Carslile worries. He doesn't understand how she survives but she only feeds on animals, like his family.

He's questioned her regarding that first night, how she projected the images of the women to each of them and then made copies of herself. He asks her how she 'put Edward to sleep' and the only thing he gets is an apology.

Taima plays with Renesme. Sits with the little vampling and learns to read and write. It's frustrating work but Taima doesn't give up. Renesme shares their stories, tells her about the Volturi and how they wanted to 'unmake' her. She talks about Jacob a lot, how he was going to take her away if the Volturi tried it but they never had to leave and she's happy about it. She tells Taima about her Grandfather Charlie and how he used to take her on patrol sometimes if her Mother allowed it. She tells her it's been almost 30 years since Charlie passed away and her Mom still misses him, misses her Mom too though Grandmother Rene hardly visited. She didn't like Forks.

Edward teaches her the piano. He is patient and doesn't raise his voice or grow annoyed at the reapeated mistakes because she _wants_ to learn. She loves the sounds he can make it play, the way the notes seem to float in the air like clouds of _feeling_ and she _wants _to feel. It's a hunger that drives her, to learn more of this world Jacob says she has to live in.

They sit in the living room. All the Cullen's and Alice is smiling.

Taima frowns.

Carslile has chosen to return to the hospital. He wants to work again-to help and it's been long enough no one will remember any of them. Esme is happy to go where Carslile goes, her life is with her family and they are all there. The others are watching her and Taima's frown deepens. She glances at herself, wonders if there is dirt on her jeans or blouse but everything is immaculate. She takes a slight sniff of herself but only finds the fresh scents of the forest and cherryblossom from the shampoo Alice buys her.

Emmett chuckles and it draws Taima's black eyes to him. He shrugs and Carslile tells them they'll be attending school in a few days. His gold eyes rest on Taima who doesn't understand.

"This will be fun." Alice assures. "Your first time in school."

Taima has been in Edward's car a few times and she still doesn't feel comfortable. She'd rather run but they can't do that in Forks because it will draw attention and they don't want that. She has to pretend to be like everyone else, pretend she _isn't_ a Cold One. Jacob told her it would be a good experience. She'd have fun and the Cullen's wouldn't let anything happen to her. She knew he meant they wouldn't let _her_ get into trouble.

Taima walks in to the class room and the scents assault her at once. She almost folds in trying not to breathe them. Edward's steady hand is at her back and Bella slips her arm through hers as they walk her in and take their seats. Bella keeps a steady stream of conversation, too low for anyone to hear but them. It's a droning in the back of Taima's mind because all she can do is follow the tantalizing aromas all around her, listen to the pulse beating in the fragile bodies- all within reach. So easy… they would be so easy to take-

Taima walks out of the class room and the teacher is demanding to know where she's going. Bella apologizes and heads after Taima while Edward calms the balding man. It's Taima's first day and so far she's done ok. She hasn't killed anyone.

It takes time but Taima slowly adjusts and learns to control the hunger inside. She hunts more often, goes with Jasper and Alice or heads out with Emmett and Edward. She never hunts with Bella or Rosalie. And her eyes never get lighter than a honey brown. Carslile wonders why that is.

Taima sits at the lunch table picking at the food she pretends to eat everyday. They are all paired. Emmett and Rosalie. Jasper and Alice. Edward and Bella. Even Carslile has Esme… Taima feels the void, the emptyness where family once fit, where her old life used to live. It was part of her, part of who she was.

She wants to go home.

Jacob listens to Taima. He doesn't know what the people will say if he allows a Cold One on to the reservation. He doesn't know what the Cullen's will think since they have never set foot beyond the border. Taima was Quileute once… she was of the people and it wasn't her choice to be turned, she never asked-

She isn't Bella.

Jacob needs to think. He puts it to the pack, lets them decide if they should allow a Cold One on Quileute lands. Seth, Leah and Collin are all for it. They don't see the harm – she's a 'vegan'. The term makes them all laugh and Quil and Embry vote yes. It's still Jacob's choice.

She stands on the border, honey eyes looking past the wolves to her home.

_'Not mine.'_

No, it isn't home anymore but they have given her a day, to see it all one more time. She wil walk the same paths she did as a Quileute, when she was flesh and blood, when she belonged to the people.

Jacob is her guide. He pads alongside her while Embry and Quil flank them. She doesn't mind. These were her people once… their faces are familiar and yet strange. There is no one there who knows her; all the ones she knew have long since been buried and nothing more than dust.

The new ones stare, they stop to watch her, murmur under their breaths to ward themselves from 'a demon'. She hears the whispers as she continues through the reservation.

They stop by Jacob's house, the same one he's always lived in. Taima's home used to be in the field next to it. There's nothing left now, nothing but trees and dead leaves and grass and weeds. It's all gone and she feels more like an outsider than before she stepped on Quileute land.

"Can we got to the water, Jake?" she unerringly turns towards the beach. "I want to see my ocean."

Jake leads her towards the beach but she knows the way as well he. Jake sends the others away and huffs to her motioning she should stay. Taima nods, honey eyes on the lap of waves and Jacob's in the trees. She smells him, as always but it's not as unpleasant.

He's the Chief now, protector of the people.

"This was my playground." She whispers and both stare at the waves. Her words are tinged with sadness and loss… He can understand- he thinks of not being able to come home, of not having _this_, of his people-

Taima was his. She belonged to the people and _this_, this was her home, her land…

Jacob understands.

She's still a Cold One.

Taima pulls off her boots, tall leather boots Alice ordered from some catalog. She shrugs out of the leather jacket and undoes the snap of her jeans pushing them down her hips while Jacob looks behind them and scans the beach.

"What are you doing?" he demands but the pack is off and there's no one but them on the shore.

"I want to feel, Jake." Taima answers as the white cotton blouse falls from her fingers and she's walking towards the waves.

She doesn't hurry and his eyes follow her progress into the water. Her skin is pale, flawless save the scar on her collar bone, the mark from the Cold One. She's thigh deep in the surf when the sun peeks feebly through the gray clouds. It strikes her, fire sparking off her skin and the waves crash around her hips while the frigid waters lick at her breasts.

She was a Quileute maiden once.

"Do the braves still dive from the cliffs?" her eyes find the tall outcrop but no one is diving today.

"Yes." Jacob answers and he smiles. The pack are the only ones who dive from that height. He used to think Sam was showing off and in a way he was. Sam… he put it all aside to spend what time was left with Emily. They are gone now, all the old ones Jacob has grown up listening to. It's their children's children who are the old ones of the Tribe now…

Jacob kicks off his cut offs and wades into the surf after Taima. The water is cold. They swim and play, for a moment she can pretend she is truly home…

It's twilight and her day is almost over. She lays on the pebbles listening to the waves and stares into the stormy clouds.

Jacob is curious and he asks her what it was like. He wants to know what their people were like when she was of the people and Taima shows him. She weaves the images of daily life in the reservation and Jacob can see the differences.

There's a new moon in the night sky and the pack howls hovering at the edge of woods near the beach. Jacob and Taima have dried off and only the thin layer of salt remains from their ocean frolic. She knows it's time to go, to say goodbye to who she was and still feels the aching void the loss of her people and land has left. She thought it would be easier, somehow less but this is worse. To know that her people have survived and never be a part of them…

"It's time to go, Taima." His voice is soft, his tone gentle and he holds out her cotton blouse. It's still damp but she neither cares nor minds it. Taima dresses slowly, honey eyes scanning the landscape, trying to commit the images to memory because she will never see her beach like this again. She will never step on Quileute lands again.

Carslile watches from the window where Taima sits under the trees at the edge of the yard. She's been quiet and withdrawn since Jacob returned her. The school has called about her missing classess inquiring about her health and he doesn't want to lie anymore. She isn't exactly a stellar pupil…

"She's adjusting." Esme says. Her arms wrap around his waist and Carslile only grunts in response. Taima has been with them twenty years. It's how long Esme has been saying that. They watch as Jasper sits with her.

He doesn't say anything and his patience is rewarded with the soft pressure of Taima's head resting on his shoulder.

"Do you miss it?"

There's a certain vulnerability in her tone he can't help but empathize with. She feels alone and being so close to her old life makes adjusting more of a challenge. Taima is hurting and Jasper exerts the slightest use of his gift. Her pain eases and there's a brief smile that ghosts over the dusky lips. She knows what he's doing and doesn't mind- if only for a moment…

"Sometimes." He thinks of his family and misses his parents, missess the family he had before. He imagines what his siblings wouldve done, tries to picture them happy with their own families. Sometimes he wonders of their decendants but they aren't his- not anymore. "It will get better."

Taima nods. He belives it but then… for Jasper it is better.

Alice drags them to Seattle for a shopping spree. They have a hotel suite and venture out when the sun has set. Renesme loves to shop and Alice loves to dress up their vampling. Two days is enough before Taima sneaks off at the last minute. She wanders aimlessly so Alice can't track her and ends up heading towards the shore. She sits on the edge staring into the dark. There's a barrage of foul odors she ignores, even the coarse calls and invitations. She keeps them at bay with a replica of Jake in wolf form only smaller. He looks innocent enough curled up, head resting on his paws, gurading her back… It's simple and she doesn't have to move.

He's walking the shore on a dare; the same place where all those bodies were found deacades ago and he isn't willing to turn back like a coward. He doesn't see the rough men until they come out of the shadows and surround him. They push and shove demanding money and take his wallet. There's not enough in it and they search him wanting more. He doesn't see the knife but he feels it. The pain flows through him, numb and debilitating. There are screams but he doesn't hear them. There's a new moon shining in the sky. The silence is peaceful and brings with it the sight of an angel. She's bent over him, alabaster skin, honey eyes staring down and midnight waves framing her face.

Taima watches from the roof as they take him away… follows the ambulance. His blood is soaked into her shirt and jeans but she ignores it. She ignores the chirp of her phone- Taima wanted him. She wanted to taste him, feel the warmth gushing into her mouth-

_"Taima!"_

She stops outside the hospital, looks over her shoulder but Edward isn't there.

"I want to go inside."

She wants to see him-

_"NO."_

It's a command and just for that, Taima wants him more. The old one comes to mind and that's enough to make Taima slink away. Alice is ther with Bella. They take her back to the suite and she sits in the window.

He sees her again as they load him in the abulance. She doesn't leave his side, his angel and he's staring in to those honey eyes.

_"Stay awake."_

Her voice is only a whisper but he can hear it over the blaring sirens. It's a soft sigh in his ear and his eyes close and she fades like a dream. He wants her back, wants to hear the soft lilting voice, wants to see those strange eyes…

Its graduation and Taima is sitting with Edward, Bella, Jasper and Alice. She's in the wrong seat. She's a Graydove not a Cullen but no one says anything. Its graduation and they won't see her again, not for another century at the very least. It's time to move, start college though the learning isn't so intersting but here's nothing else to do. She hunts when it's time, spends her days with the Cullen's pretending to be like every one else. She doesn't mind it so much. The nights are for drawing but even that doesn't fill the hollow where her people and land used to be. It's a void she hasn't been able to fill.

Taima thinks of the boy, she thinks of him too much. She remembers the secnt, the smell of his blood and the tantalizing aroma of his skin- She cant help it but at least she's never seen him again.

"You will." Alice smiles and Taima doesn't want to believe her, but Alice _sees._

Taima thinks of Alice's words. It was Edward's harsh voice and the memory of the old one that kept her from going into the hospital. They stopped her from doing it again- No. She'd rather not see the boy ever again.

Taima lives with Jasper and Alice. They have a house not far from campus. It's their last semester before they move on and they start highschool all over again. They'll meet with Emmett and Rosalie for a holiday before joining Esme and Carslile. Taima goes where they will. They are her people now.

He's walking down the hall as he's done the past two years when he gets a glimpse but that's enough to send him chasing after her. He runs towards the library and the memory of his angel. He stops inside and looks around. He finds her easily, sitting in a dark corner curled into a chair with a book. She's the exact image of the angel he knows was real because they told him she'd kept him from bleeding and called 911. She saved his life and he'd never gotten a name. All he had was the memory-

He walks straight to her corner, watching her. He's only a few feet away when her head jerks up and those honey eyes unerringly land on him. It's as though a shock runs through him and he's standing in front of her, blocking her escape. He knows she recognizes him and that's strange because it's been six years. He's 23, no longer the dumb teenager willing to risk life or limb on a dare.

"You saved my life." He says and Taima takes a step back. She wants to taste him, to know if his blood is as delicious as he smells. "I never-. I don't know your name…?"

"Taima." She wants to take it back as soon as she tells him. She looks around the library full of students and staff. All she can think of is needing a distraction, something to help her get away.

"Taima." He smiles as he says her name and she's staring at him. Her eyes are darker- almost black… "I never thought I'd get to see you again." He laughs and she can _smell_ _him_. He shakes his head and his heart speeds up- "I feel like a teenager…"

Taima ducks around him, book forgotten and he's calling after her. She hurries to the side door and doesn't look back because she can hear him following her. She pushes out of the door and steps into the night. There's a new moon in the sky. Taima disappears.

Alice answers the door. She's been expecting him, had made up her mind to bring him in herself but for the sun…

"I was… does Taima Graydove live here?"

Alice likes him already. She ushers him insed n ignores Jasper's warning look. Alice points him upstairs where Taima hides in the attic suite. She paints during the day, landscapes of her Quileute land… it's the only way she'll ever see them again. There's a box filled with sketchbooks Taima hides. Each page filled with sketches of the boy she saved. It's his face for all she denies thinking of him.

He knocks on the door tentatively, not sure if he should go in as he was instructed but the door is ajar and he can hear music playing softly. He pushes the door wider and sees her sitting at an easel. She's barefoot, wearing a white tank that hangs loose on her body to mid thigh. She's humming to the tune playing from the headphones- loud enough _he_ can hear it.

He stands in the door watching her, the open window invites a gentle breeze and it plays with her hair. He wishes it were his hands… the sun shifts in the sky and the light coming from the window extends further into the room. It touches on her toes and climbs up her feet, ankles and calves… She's sparkling like a prism caught in the light.

She's beautiful and more than ever he thinks she _has_ to be an angel.

"…angel…"

Taima turns to the door, to the boy from Seattle, the man from the library and sees her bag slip from his fingers as he strides across the wooden floor.

"You're an angel."

The brush falls from her hand, she steps back- into the sun and swipes at the head phones but it's too late.

Alice.

_"Taima?"_

It's Edward but she wants Alice because Alice is to blame for this. It's Alice who let him inside, who had to have sent him up, Alice who _knew_ what would happen-

_"Calm down. You won't hurt him. Alice and Jasper are there."_ Edwards voice fades but not without hearing the slight amusement in his tone. He's concerned, ofcourse but all Taima can focus on is their amusement. _He_ better than any of them should understand what this is like.

He touches her face smiling in awe and she's still. Her skin is smooth, cool to the touch even though she's sparkling as if a million tiny fires are licking at her skin. Her eyes are dark- almost black and he remembers they were like that the night before. He skims his fingers over her face, gently tracing the curve of her cheek and trailing on her jaw. He pauses – thumb on the corner of her mouth and she parts her lips. It's a sigh that whispers past and he's touching his mouth to hers. He doesn't know why he didn't do it before but he's kissing her now. His angel is burning like a sun in his arms…

His name is Jude.

When he was 17 an agel saved his life.

6 years later he's found her and has no intention of ever letting go.

Jude has a lot of question and Taima answers some. He knows what they are but Jude insists Taima is an angel. He wont let her say otherwise. He spends his free time with her. They walk the city together, she doesn't bother with class unless he forces her to go and then he sits in a corner. He doenst go 'home' anymore and his room mates wonder where he is.

Jude smiles and pulls Taima closer. The attic windows are open and there's a new moon again.

She watches him sleep, tantalized by his scent but the need is manageable. Jasper was right and it is better. She knows what Edward felt when Bella was mortal and she's come to the same conclusion. _This_, the next few years will be precious for their brevity.

The semster is finished and the house is being packed up. Jude helps in the attic while Taima is off with Jasper.

Alice stands in the door and laughs when Jude is startled. "That's the box you want." She points to a blue printed box in a corner and leaves.

Jude sits by the window leafing through the sketches. 6 years worth of sketchbooks and it's only him. All of them are life-like and in that first meeting Taima memorized the smallest details.

It's twilight and the attic is dark. She's back and full because Jasper insisted she needed to eat more than her usual fare. Her eyes still aren't any lighter than the honey brown even with the extra meals.

"Jude." She can hear him sleeping and picks her way towards the bed. He's tired and she stops. She's filthy and smells like her food. With a soft kiss to his lips she ducks into the bathroom.

The shower is on and Jude gets up. He shuffles to the bathroom and wipes the sleep from his eyes. He stubles and looks down, Taima's clothes are in a heap on the floor. Jude doesn't hesitate and his clothes join hers. He draws the curtain aside and she blinks water from her eyes- those honey brown eyes and the curtain falls in place behind him.

"Jude-."

He won't listen to the reasons- he knows them all. There's a box sitting by the window- she's drawn him over and over- as much as Jude has dreamed of her in the last 6 years.

His hands skim over her curves; she's slick under his palms, breast firm and he wants to taste her.

"Jude, please."

Her voice is just a whisper and his mouth leaves a fiery trail on her skin. He licks at the scar on her collar, the brand from the one who made her and he bites down hard knowing it won't erase it.

Taima moans his name, arches under his hands and Jude grins. His angel is not cold. She feels – as other women, mortal or ethreal and he _wants_ her to feel…

"Jude, no…"

He ignores the soft protest and he shuts the water off before he picks her up and carries her out to their bed.

"Say yes, Taima." He beathes past her ear as they sink inot the mattress. "I want more than a taste." He makes his point with a flick of his tongue. She arching into his mouth and he bites down. He can't hurt her, can't inflict anything other than delicious torture on his angel.

"Jude…" it's a plea but Taima doesn't stop his descent. He spreads her open, mouth pressing soft warm kisses to her thighs. She's holding still for him, afraid to move for fear of hurting him. He's a fragile human…

Taima reaches over her head and clutches at the bedsheets. She cant move, can't do anything but hold herself as still as possible under his assault. She shouldt go this far, shouldn't and never forces him to stop. They're playing with fire and she knows he doesn't care. He tells her with every stroke of his tongue, each time he delves into her. When he sucks and nips at her lips… She can't stop him- wont even though she should.

It's his name she sighs brokenly, over and over like a prayer. She's rocking under his mouth- cant stay still anymore and he's careful. Laps at her and slowly slides his finger- it's his name she exclaims as she clamps down on him and he's pushing a second finger isnside her. She jerks and moans whls his tongue teases and his fingers ease in and out.

"Say yes." He urges and her head thrashes from side to side. She's clamped around his fingers like a vice, thighs trembling. Jude pumps faster and she shudders.

She's close and she's mumbling "Nononononono" when all she wants is to say "Yes".

His fingers curl and he bites down. The sheets tear, the mattress pings and pops as white fluff sprouts from the seams.

She's like a gentle stream, flowing over his fingers. He licks and sucks his way up her body, feels the tremors subside and rests his body over hers. She's cool against his skin but her lips are soft and she can taste herself on his tongue.

It the soft whisper against her throat as he asks her again. "Say yes." His hands roaming down her sides to grasp at her thighs. He's nestled between her legs, hips rocking over hers and she feels him pulsing hot at her opening. And she shakes her head.

"Please, Taima. Say yes."

She's silent but it's all she wants and he doesn't ever ask with a please.

Taima slides her arms around his back, her mouth moving against his as she rolls them over. She pulls back just enough to look in his silver eyes.

"No, Jude."

Because he's fragile.

Because he breaks and it's her lips and her tongue and her mouth that render the repeated answer unimportant when she takes him.

Later, when dawn breaks he opens his eyes to find her watching him. He smiles, figners skimming lightly over her cheek and jaw until she greets him properly.

Jude laughs and plucks out the mattress stuffing from her hair. It isn't the first one she's torn and then his hands are warm as they skim over her body.

"You know… it's not just…"

Taima knows.

She knows this isn't about a fuck.

When he asks, he asks for much more- a oneness they both yearn for, to feel whole…


End file.
